Posted 6:25 PM by John A. Seafisk

Just Got Back From a Vegas Show

I just returned from a week spent in Las Vegas, Nevada. Not literally spent, since I did not have much chance to do any gambling....for I was not there on vacation, I was there to work on a play.

The play is called "The Godfaddah Workout". Basically, it is a one-man show in which the one man re-enacts scenes from the film "The Godfather". He plays all the parts, leaping all over furniture to change to different characters. It is quite a funny performance, not to mention athletic.

My role in this production was not of the one man, but of one of five 'Goombahs'. The Goombahs were on-stage stagehands who move furniture and setting between scenes, and also present & remove props during the scenes. Our roles as Goombahs were all choreographed, meaning we just didn't plop down desks and chairs -- We had to carefully orchestrate what to put where and when to do it. The process was designed to speed the scene changes, in addition to keep the audience entertained. So the good folks in attendance got to see these guys pop up on stage in their white shirts, black slacks, suspenders & fedoras...and watch us move car fenders & trampolines, just to name a few items we had to deal with.

We all arrived on a Thursday at noon, and immediately went to work. We had to unload a large semi trailer full of furniture & storage bins & doors & such. Then we had to organize everything & rebuild whatever needed rebuiling. After that, it was learning or re-learning cues and directions.

Everyday from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. we'd spend in a theater at the Golden Nugget Casino, with occasional breaks for lunch & dinner. The theater was originally built for Frank Sinatra, which added to the aura a bit. But I will admit, rehearsing & re-organizing did take their toll physically and emotionally. For those not involved in the theater world, there is a heck of a lot of preparation in putting together what you see on stage.

For our first rehearsal, it felt like I found new ways to screw up between each scene. It immediately got off to a bad start when the first thing I did after setting down a desk was to run into a tree. It went downhill from there. I was late for cues, I had trouble carrying other objects....it all led to my most spectacular mistake - falling down in a thunderous boom while pankicly trying to move a chair with a trampoline on it. I thought, 'I have sucked like no thespian has sucked before.' (Or it actually might have been, "What the hell am I doing?")

The next night was the actual performance. Two days is not normally an ample amount of time to re-learn a play you haven't been involved with in the past 2 years. But we had a quick run-through in the morning, and my mistake & the mistakes of others were slowly minimized. At 7 p.m., the curtain pulled back, and there I was...on stage....moving a desk over with another goombah. As we exited Stage Right, I approached the tree...and didn't even brush against it.

As the play went on, the laughter from the audience grew and grew. The star of the show was feeding off the crowd's reaction, and the Goombahs were feeling the boost, as well. We strode confidently between each scene change, lugging our heavy tables with greater ease. We even received a few laughs of our own, and they were intentional. An hour after it began, the play ended, the curtain closed, and the Goombahs all scrambled behind, reading for the curtain call.

When it opened, we were greeted with a standing ovation. 300 people applauding, with a few whistles of approvement thrown in. Although the glare of the stagelights made it impossible to see it, the ovation could definitely be heard...and felt. The star & the Goombahs all gathered back stage to bask in the glow of a successful show. Hearing the applause & cheers made the 16-hour days of aggravation & worry worth it. It was one of the times in my life where I had such a strong sense of accomplishment.

Then we had to go re-load the truck. We finished at 4 a.m. But we did have a lavish dinner beforehand, courtesy of the show's producers. And after the load up, we decided there was no point in sleep, so we finally hit the casinos - first downtown, then The Strip. I played roulette and came out $10 ahead.

It's been 2 days since I returned, and I'm still slowly recovering. The days were long & tiring. The casino employee cafeteria brought back memories of college dorm food. My hands & legs are a patchwork of cuts & bruises.

I had a great time.